Improvement in locks



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICEO WILSON ROHANNAN, OE NEW YORK, AND FRANK e.JOHNSON, or BROOKLYN, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,0] 8, dated May29,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILSON BOHANNAN, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, and FRANK G. JOHNSON, of Brooklyn, Kings county, State of NewYork, have invented a new and Improved Padlock 5 and we do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a partof. this specification, in which- Figure l is a view of one side of thepadlock. Fig. 2 is a View of the padlock having the outer shell removed.Fig. 3 is a view of the interior ofthe padlock with the outer case andthe perforated face-plate removed. Fig. 4 is a view of the padlockhaving the case, perforated face-plate, and sliders removed, and showingthe hasp open. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are sections through the padlock. Fig.8 is a section through the cylinder for receiving the sliders. Fig. 9 isan external view ot' this cylinder. Fig. 10 i'sa view of one oi' thesliders. Fig. ll shows the key.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severaliigures.

This invention relates to certain novel improvements on the permutation-lock which was secured to Frank Gr. Johnson by Letters Patent bearingdate February 5, 1861.

The main object of our invention is to inclose the sliding tumblerswithin a solid cylindrical case which is permanently attached to theback plate oi' the lock-case, for the purpose of affording a muchstronger and cheaper lock than those having the tumblers applied to anopen or skeleton case, as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of our invention is to attach the stationary guard-platewhich receives the grooves in the tumblers, and also the movabletumbler-case, tothe back plate otl the lockcase, for the purpose ofsecuring strength and preventing a displacement of the parts of theAnother object of our invention is to so construct a padlock having amovable tumblercase that it shall be self-locking, the hasp thereofbeing acted upon by a spring in such manner as to keep it open whenunlocked and prevent it from being casually locked, as will behereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand our invention, we willdescribe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawmgs, A A' represent the two parts constitutingthe case of the lock, and B represents the hasp of the lock, which ispivoted to a stud, a, projecting from one corner of the back plate, A',of the case. ',lhis hasp is constructed with a rounded nose and a notch,1, on its free end, and a projecting lip, et', on its pivoted end, whichprojection is acted upon by a spring, b, that throws the hasp open whenthe bolt-hook c releases the nose of this hasp, and keeps it open untilforcibly pressed into its place by the hand.

The back plate, A', is constructed with a central stud, c2, which isintended to receive and serve as a pivot for the cylindrical tuin-vbler-case C, the circumference of which is con centric to the axisofsaid stud, as shown 'in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. This back plate, A', is alsoprovided with a number of iixed studs, e e e, to which a guard-plate, D,is riveted, as will be further described.

The tumbler-case C is constructed with a number of concentricdepressions, ff, in its face, which are of sufficient depth to receivewithin them the cylindrical tumblers g g g and their respective springsli h lt. Any desirable number of these cups or tumblerecells may be madein the case C, and we prefer to'make them circular, so that thecylindrical tumblers shall be free 1o rotate as well as to move in thedirection of their length. The tumblers are somewhat shorter than thecells within which they are placed, and these tumblers are constructedin the form ot' cups, and with false and true annular grooves, as shownin Figs. 6 and 10. The only difference between the false and truegrooves is that the true grooves are deeper than the false, and whenbrought in a plane with the inner edge of the guardplate D will admitofthe case C being turned so. as to lock or unlock the hasp.

The tumbler-springs h h h enter the depressions iu the tumblers, andpress the upper closed ends thereof against the bottom of the circularcap g', which is secured by means of screws over theend oi' the case G,as shown in Figs. 2, G, and 7.- This cap g' is perforated, as shown inFigs. l and 2, for the purpose of receiving the pins t' t' i, whichproject from the key-handle, as shown in Fig. l1, and which depress thetumblers and bring all the true grooves in a plane with the edge of theguardplate D, so as to allow the case O to be moved either toward theright or left, as may be re-V quired.

The inner edge of the guard-plateD is scalloped, as shown in Figs. 3 and4, so as to form projections or gua-rds n n n, that enter a groove inthe circumference of case C, so as to project within each one of thecells f f, and catch the tumblers g g when the attempt is made to pickthe lock.

lt will be noticed from the drawings, Fig. 3, that when the lock isfully locked (and the same is the case when it is fully unlocked) theprojections 'n n n do not interlock with the grooves of the tumblers,and therefore the tumblers can be forced into their cells by the key.The projections n u '11, only stand in the way of a burglar who attemptsto pick the lock. They are long enough to prevent the case C beingturned when they are on a plane with any of the false grooves, but notlong enough to do so when the true grooves are all on a planewith themor the guard-plate D.

When the hasp B is unlocked, as shown in Fig. 4, the guards n n n willreceive and retain their respective tumblers g g g in a depressedposition, as shown in Fig. 7, but when the hasp is locked the guards n'n n will release all the tumblers and allow1 their springs to thrustthem up against the cap, as shown in Fig. 6.

The difficulty in picking a lock of this de# scription arises from thefact that the true grooves in the tumblers are made at different pointsfrom the ends thereof, and as all these grooves must be brought in aplane with the edge of the guard-plate D before the case C can be moved,it will require a key which is especially adapted to the arrangement ofthe said true grooves to unlock the hasp.

The hooked bolt-lock c, which is formed on the circumference of the caseG, is adapted for catching and holding` the hasp B, as shown in Figs. 2and 3. This hooked bolt c is moved between two stops, p q, which limitthe length of movement of the case O. Directly beneath the hooked noseof the bolt c a notch, 2, is cut in the circumference of the case O, forthe purpose of allowing the hooked nose of the hasp B to be broughtunder the hook of said bolt; also for the purpose of allowing the case Oto be moved by the pressure of the nose of the hasp upon it, so as toeffect the locking of this hasp without the necessity of using a key.

The notch l of the hasp is longer than the depth of the lock-catch c. 1tis also longer than the depth of the notch 2. A slight inclination froma horizontal line is given to the top and bottom of the notch 2.

The case C is acted upon by a spring, s, at s', for the purpose ofpreventing it from moving too freely when the hasp is unlocked. Thisspring also keeps the case C in the position shown in Fig. 4, when thehasp is unlocked, and therefore the hooked nose of the hasp canbeentered into the lock-case and made to bear against the base of thenotch 2er? the case until the case O is turned sufficiently to insurethe entrance of the catch-bolt c into the notch 1 of the hasp. Thus theuse of the key is unnecessary in locking the lock. We do not regard thebroad idea of operating the Vcatchbolt by the hasp new; but we think itis a new invention to adapt a cylindric tumbler-case to be thusoperated.

It willbe seen from the above description that the tumblers g g g,together with their springs h h, are confined Within a case, O, which ismade of one piece of metal, and which is held in place upon the backplate, A,of the lock-case by means of the fixed guard-plate D, the inneredge of which enters a groove in said case. By this means a very stronglock is made and the tumblers cannot get out of order. The inclinedplane, which isY formed by notching the case C just below the hookedboltc,

affords a means for locking the hasp by pressf ing it upon the case G,and the spring b, which acts upon the lip A of the hasp, throws thishasp open when it is released from the bolt c.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Inclosing the grooved tumblers g g, together with their springs h 7L,within cells which are formed in the movable case O, constructedsubstantially as described.

2. The constructionof the celled case C with a hooked bolt, c, a groovefor receiving the guard-plate D, and a notch for receiving the nose ofthe hasp B, substantially as described.

3. The movable cap g, in combination with the case C, constructed forreceiving the tumblers g g, substantially as described.

1. The combination ofthe guard-plate D and movable tumbler-case O. allconstructed and arranged substantially as described.

5. The combination of the notched cylindric case O2 with the hasp B, thesaid parts being constructed and operating substantially as described,and for the purpose set forth.

6. The means, substantially as herein described and shown, for throwingthe hasp open when it is unlocked, in combination with the tumbler-caseO, constructed and arranged substantially as described.

' 7. The combination of the friction-spring s with the movabletumbler-ease G, for preventing this case from moving too freely when thehasp is unlocked, substantially as described.

8. The construction of the tumblers with depressions in them, forreceiving and keeping in place the springs h h, substantially asdescribed.

Witness our hands, in the matter of our application for a patent on newand useful improvements in the construction of locks, this 16th day ofNovember, 1865.

WILSON BOHANNAN. FRANK G. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

R. WYMAN, N. HEIMAN.

